Thread: Meal Plans for weight loss

Originally Posted by NeedMuscleMass

Over the last 3.5 months I've sat at a desk for 70-80 hours a week. Needless to say, workouts were few and far between, nutrition was lacking, and I put on some weight.

Now that my lifes returning to normal, I'd like to get some input on my planned daily meals. It won't be the same thing every day (sub fish for chicken, blue berries for strawberries, etc) but I plan on keeping this basic outline.

Some background: I'm 24 male, 5'11" 185lbs. Don't know what my bf is, but I definitely could afford to lose some weight. Ideally I'd like to be around 170 and go from there. As of now, my workouts are going to be strictly cardio with core muscle and body weight exercises. I'm more focused on getting into good shape then getting big right now. Keep in mind I work at a desk from 9- 6 or 7.

Here we go:

8 AM Breakfast
.5 cup Low Fat Vanilla Yogurt 100
1 scoops Whey Protein 100
1 cup Halfed Strawberries 50
.5 cup Water -
4 Ice cubes -
Total 250

11 AM Snack
14 Baby Carrots 35
1 Medium Banana 105
Total 140


1 PM Lunch
6.4 oz Butterball Turkey 168
2 pieces Whole Wheat Bread 180
5 slices Hot Pepper 10
1 tbsp Mustard 15
Total 373

4 PM Snack
2 tbsp Peanut butter 180
1 Large Banance 121
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread 90
Total 391

7 PM Dinner
7.15oz Chicken Breast 181
1 cup Brown Rice 216
.6 cup Spinach 30
427

10 PM Snack
.5 cup Cottage Cheese 80
.5 cup Sliced Strawberries 25
105
Gym trip occurs around 8:30 PM

My automatic guess is Snack 1 needs more calories (I find I'm pretty hungry by lunch) and I should incorporate more vegetables in my meals.

Any other thoughts/insights would be appreciated. Thanks for help.

At A glance it looks like you have far too little protein. I bolded your protein sources. Let's generalize:

-1 scoop whey = 25g
-6-7 oz turkey = 35g
-2 slices whole wheat bread = 8g
-2 tbsp PB = 8g
-7 oz chicken = 35g
-brown rice = 5g?
-1 slice whole wheat bread = 4g
-1/2 cup cottage cheese (don't know if it's dry curd or not, but let's assume it's dry curd) = 20g

Total = 140g

If you're 185 you should be taking in AT LEAST 185g/day (remember the old suggestion of 1g/lb?), but I'd take in more like 230-250 (some would suggest more).

Your breakfast is terrible. You want to get your metabolism jump-started. You need more protein and fat. A scoopy of whey is better than nothing, but (a) it's likely not enough grams for the meal and (b) you might not be using your powder wisely. If it's isolation then that protein is absorbed very fast. If you're cutting you want to stay satisfied for longer, which is why a slow-burning protein (especially in your fist meal of the day) would be helpful. Why no eggs?

Take in more fibrous, leafy veges. For instance, I eat three spinach salads a day (which includes avocado, broccolli, peppers, tomato, and seeds). And, not that you have included any, but not all veges were created equally; just because they're colourful and crunchy and don't taste fantastic, certain veges like iceburg lettuce, cucumber, and celery are seriously lacking in vitamins/minerals. Even some fruits like apples (if you look up a detailed analysis) don't really have a whole lot to offer. Since you're resticting calories, make sure that what you DO take in is not only unhealthy but healthy -- and that means more than just low in "x" and "y".

Anyway, the main problem to address is the protein. If you do 6 meals a day @ 240g then you take in 40g/meal. Keep a steady flow of nutrients so you don't get those insulin spikes, which will inhibit your fat burning.

Would something like this be better for breakfast?

2 slices Turkey Bacon 70
5 Egg Whites 85
1 Whole Egg 70
1 cup Mushrooms 15
1/4 cup Onion 17
1 slice Wheat Toast 90
1/2 cup Halfed Strawberries 25
Total 372

Problem is I dont always have time to make eggs in morning. Maybe I'll prep a lot of the stuff the night before.

Phineas, why does it matter how much protein he eats per meal?

NeedMuscle, FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal I want the total for the day please. I don't give a rats ass about the individual meals - eat one big meal or a hundred micro snacks, it won't matter at all - other than your personal comfort, which really DOES matter or you won't stick to your diet!

Built - Here is a link: jkrupski86 - free online diet and fitness journal

Thanks for help.

Originally Posted by Built

Phineas, why does it matter how much protein he eats per meal?

NeedMuscle, FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal I want the total for the day please. I don't give a rats ass about the individual meals - eat one big meal or a hundred micro snacks, it won't matter at all - other than your personal comfort, which really DOES matter or you won't stick to your diet!

Steady flow of nutrients to keep the metabolism burning steadily and prevent insulin spikes.

Originally Posted by NeedMuscleMass

Would something like this be better for breakfast?

2 slices Turkey Bacon 70
5 Egg Whites 85
1 Whole Egg 70
1 cup Mushrooms 15
1/4 cup Onion 17
1 slice Wheat Toast 90
1/2 cup Halfed Strawberries 25
Total 372

Problem is I dont always have time to make eggs in morning. Maybe I'll prep a lot of the stuff the night before.

I think that looks pretty damn good. I'd seriously keep the yolks, though. Such a good source of monounsaturated fat and tons of other good stuff (flavour, too, lol) including about half the egg's protein.

Eggs don't take long at all to make. I make 4 eggs every morning, and, while it would be nice to turn that into an omlette with veges, you don't need to. I just scrample them on work days. Takes like 7 minutes to heat the pan, get them in there, cook them, package it up, and clean the pan. You can easily afford 7 minutes to do this.]

Mmm, turkey bacon? Never had it before.

Phineas - what I did was this:

Last night when I was putting together lunch for today, I beat the eggs, cooked the bacon, sauteed the onion and mushrooms, and then just stored in fridge. When I woke up I was able to throw together an omlette pretty quickly. Going to start doing this more often.

Keeping the yokes would raise the calories a lot and I'm trying to cut down them as low as possible. Maybe I'll throw one more yoke in there - we'll see how it goes.

Originally Posted by Phineas

Steady flow of nutrients to keep the metabolism burning steadily and prevent insulin spikes.

A steady flow of nutrients isn't at all necessary to keep metabolism steady.

Why would you get insulin spikes from less frequent eating? And why would it matter?

Grams Calories %-Cals
Calories 1,869
Fat 47.5 415 22 %
Saturated 12.2 107 6 %
Polyunsaturated 10.8 94 5 %
Monounsaturated 16.7 145 8 %
Carbohydrate 208.1 810 43 %
Dietary Fiber 24.4
Protein 160.8 650 35 %

Lots of carb and not a ton of calories for a man your size. I'd be hungry on this.

So far haven't been hungry. The omlette in the morning really made a difference for the rest of the day.. going to stick with this..

Today I hit 27% fat, 37% carbs, and 36% protein. Going forward I'm going to try and lower the carbs a little and raise the fat.

hello evry b0dy

Originally Posted by NeedMuscleMass

So far haven't been hungry. The omlette in the morning really made a difference for the rest of the day.. going to stick with this..

Today I hit 27% fat, 37% carbs, and 36% protein. Going forward I'm going to try and lower the carbs a little and raise the fat.

Grams please. The percentages mean nothing.

Glad you're more comfortable.

Fat: 56
carbs: 178.3
protein: 164.7

Calories?

Originally Posted by Built

A steady flow of nutrients isn't at all necessary to keep metabolism steady.

Why would you get insulin spikes from less frequent eating? And why would it matter?

Insulin is released in the blood stream after eating. The longer it's been since the last intake the larger the insulin spike. I think it was in your daredevils article that I read that insulin in the bloodstream inhibits fat oxidation.

I have always been taught on this board and elsewhere that smaller, more frequent meals is the healthiest approach to dieting, whether bulking, cutting, or maintaining.

fat - 492
carb - 703
protein - 664

Originally Posted by Phineas

The longer it's been since the last intake the larger the insulin spike. I think it was in your daredevils article that I read that insulin in the bloodstream inhibits fat oxidation.

I have always been taught on this board and elsewhere that smaller, more frequent meals is the healthiest approach to dieting, whether bulking, cutting, or maintaining.

I think it is important to apply the science to practical application. Although, the presence of insulin inhibits lipolysis, over time, long term caloric deficit will result in fat loss regardless of meal frequency. Your statement, "the longer it's been since the last intake the larger the insulin spike": what are you implying? Holding that statement as true (it's actually not so much meal frequency, but regularity of meal patterns that can decrease peak insulin concentrations), are you suggesting that by very slightly affecting insulin concentration, you'll burn more or less fat? It may be so, but it'll only amount to a handful of grams -- hardly something worthy of significantly altering ones lifestyle. That brings me to my next point.

Consistency is what will bring forth results. The majority of dieters are not individuals trying to get from 9% BF to contest levels, but rather (for males) are moving from perhaps 15% or 20% to maintainable, leaner levels. Perhaps for individuals trying to peak for a contest, more variables need to be controlled than for the common dieter, but I think this is a separate conversation -- perhaps Sassy69 will have some input. Anyway, those that hunker down with radical lifestyle changes (going from eating three times a day to eating six) are hardly ever successful in the long term. Because fat loss is contingent on energy balance, meal frequency only becomes a matter of preference.

In pseudo-defense of a higher meal frequency, one will find plenty of evidence to suggest that increased meal frequency may be associated with improvements in general health markers such as 'better' lipid profiles. However, these studies usually use fat people. If you make fat people leaner, improvements in general health markers should be expected. The conclusions of most of these studies result in suggesting that energy intake is 'probably' more important than relatively inconsequential details such as meal frequency.

Originally Posted by Phineas

Insulin is released in the blood stream after eating. The longer it's been since the last intake the larger the insulin spike. I think it was in your daredevils article that I read that insulin in the bloodstream inhibits fat oxidation.

It does. That's why you don't eat sugar before doing stubborn fat loss protocols.

PS THANK YOU for reading my article!

I have always been taught on this board and elsewhere that smaller, more frequent meals is the healthiest approach to dieting, whether bulking, cutting, or maintaining.

I know this myth circulates a lot, but there's not much science to support it. Do this if you feel more comfortable this way. Don't if you don't. It won't matter from a weight loss or health perspective, unless of course you are treating some sort of health condition, such as type I diabetes and you need to time your intake and your insulin shots.

Originally Posted by m11

I think it is important to apply the science to practical application. Although, the presence of insulin inhibits lipolysis, over time, long term caloric deficit will result in fat loss regardless of meal frequency. Your statement, "the longer it's been since the last intake the larger the insulin spike": what are you implying? Holding that statement as true (it's actually not so much meal frequency, but regularity of meal patterns that can decrease peak insulin concentrations), are you suggesting that by very slightly affecting insulin concentration, you'll burn more or less fat? It may be so, but it'll only amount to a handful of grams -- hardly something worthy of significantly altering ones lifestyle.

Exactly. Stubborn fat loss is a method to coax a few more calories burned to come from fat, and a few less from muscle. This won't matter at all until you're so lean you can spot the individual stubborn pockets.

That brings me to my next point.

Consistency is what will bring forth results. The majority of dieters are not individuals trying to get from 9% BF to contest levels, but rather (for males) are moving from perhaps 15% or 20% to maintainable, leaner levels. Perhaps for individuals trying to peak for a contest, more variables need to be controlled than for the common dieter, but I think this is a separate conversation -- perhaps Sassy69 will have some input. Anyway, those that hunker down with radical lifestyle changes (going from eating three times a day to eating six) are hardly ever successful in the long term. Because fat loss is contingent on energy balance, meal frequency only becomes a matter of preference.

In pseudo-defense of a higher meal frequency, one will find plenty of evidence to suggest that increased meal frequency may be associated with improvements in general health markers such as 'better' lipid profiles. However, these studies usually use fat people. If you make fat people leaner, improvements in general health markers should be expected. The conclusions of most of these studies result in suggesting that energy intake is 'probably' more important than relatively inconsequential details such as meal frequency.

This is an excellent point m11 - thank you for this!

as we all know it does come down to the law of thermodynamics, burn more than you take in and you will lose weight. With that said it makes sense that meal frequency is not an issue, hypothetically you could consume all your calories at one meal and still be in a calorie deficit.

What I have always taught was more frequent meals will help with satiety, and keep the average person trying to lose weight full throughout there day so they wont binge.
always being hungry leads to failed diet ............imho

Interestingly, many dieters find it more satiating to have a few larger meals than to have many tiny meals. This can be particularly true for women. I mean YOU try calling 250 calories a meal!

I will agree with that, however most average (deconditioned) people are only eating twice a day and then snacking at night. I'm sure they can easily eat 1000cals+ at each of those two meals. so three meals would be a plus.

Really? When I got my shit together, I was "grazing". We were told for years this was good for us.

<groan>